My heart leapt upon hearing that the Senate was looking into violations of IRS rules by prominent televangelists. My Libertarian voice whispered a note of caution about government intrusion into religion. But my former evangelical voice, now freed from the tyranny of guilt-based manipulation, shouted a Pentecostal-style Hallelujah! Grassley is looking into the finances of Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, and Paula White, among others.
To understand my point of view, you must know a bit of my personal history. Twenty-five years ago, I was the pianist for Nancy Harmon. Nancy had a regular television show on TBN. (That's me pictured above on the TBN set around 1982.) I played and sang on TBN and PTL and accompanied many of the top Christian artists during the 1980's. I have nothing bad to say about Nancy Harmon. She was sincere, honest, and a genuinely caring person. And she is one heck of a Hammond Organist! But one of Nancy's best friends was the ultra-smarmy Mike Murdock. Being in Nancy's band, I was exposed to toxic levels of this swindler. My only disappointment with the Grassley Investigation is that Murdock was left off the list. Steve Brock, one of Benny Hinn's regular singers, used to be my pastor. I traveled around with him as a teenager, playing in revivals and camp meetings. One of my relatives was on Kenneth Copeland's board of directors for many years.
Senator Grassley is looking into the lavish lifestyles of these "ministers", financed by tax-exempt contributions. The "ministry" typically owns everything one needs to live the life of a multi-millionaire: beachfront homes, Texas ranches, Manhattan condos, private jets, and other trappings. The "ministry" pays for the maintenance and upkeep while the "minister" is the sole user of these things. All this is done tax-free! The board of directors rubber stamps all expenditures and the "minister" gets to live like a king. Technically, they do not own the homes and jets. But they have absolute control and usage of these things.
The aptly named Creflo Dollar, one of those under investigation, made the most outrageous statement I have heard from the accused so far. He questioned whether the investigation could "affect the privacy of every community church in America". The answer is a resounding no! The tax exempt status of churches was created to encourage support for community churches. It was not intended to create multi-millionaires!
Last year, I was shocked to hear how much money a local pastor brings in from a tax-exempt "ministry". The new mega-churches are beginning to resemble large, corporate bureaucracies where the CEO (pastor) is paid exorbitantly and the rest of the staff is expected to live on rice and beans. And the congregations are expected to give more than ten percent of their gross income. Many of these leaders consider their organizations far more important than the people who comprise them. It is because the organization allows the pastor to live like the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
It is time for this to stop. Benny Hinn is a fraud. Kenneth Copeland preaches the Amway-gospel, where those at the top get all the money. Creflo Dollar promises the poor they will become rich by sowing financial seeds in his ministry. And Paula White? "God can heal YOUR marriage, just not mine."
My hope is that the Grassley Investigation leads to reform. These laws were passed before television and radio created superstar pastors. We need laws that allow open investigation into a tax-exempt organization's finances. Then the guilt, shame, and manipulation these groups use to collect money can be turned in their direction. Glasnost, or openness, helped bring down the Soviet Union. We could use a bit of it in the church.
To understand my point of view, you must know a bit of my personal history. Twenty-five years ago, I was the pianist for Nancy Harmon. Nancy had a regular television show on TBN. (That's me pictured above on the TBN set around 1982.) I played and sang on TBN and PTL and accompanied many of the top Christian artists during the 1980's. I have nothing bad to say about Nancy Harmon. She was sincere, honest, and a genuinely caring person. And she is one heck of a Hammond Organist! But one of Nancy's best friends was the ultra-smarmy Mike Murdock. Being in Nancy's band, I was exposed to toxic levels of this swindler. My only disappointment with the Grassley Investigation is that Murdock was left off the list. Steve Brock, one of Benny Hinn's regular singers, used to be my pastor. I traveled around with him as a teenager, playing in revivals and camp meetings. One of my relatives was on Kenneth Copeland's board of directors for many years.
Senator Grassley is looking into the lavish lifestyles of these "ministers", financed by tax-exempt contributions. The "ministry" typically owns everything one needs to live the life of a multi-millionaire: beachfront homes, Texas ranches, Manhattan condos, private jets, and other trappings. The "ministry" pays for the maintenance and upkeep while the "minister" is the sole user of these things. All this is done tax-free! The board of directors rubber stamps all expenditures and the "minister" gets to live like a king. Technically, they do not own the homes and jets. But they have absolute control and usage of these things.
The aptly named Creflo Dollar, one of those under investigation, made the most outrageous statement I have heard from the accused so far. He questioned whether the investigation could "affect the privacy of every community church in America". The answer is a resounding no! The tax exempt status of churches was created to encourage support for community churches. It was not intended to create multi-millionaires!
Last year, I was shocked to hear how much money a local pastor brings in from a tax-exempt "ministry". The new mega-churches are beginning to resemble large, corporate bureaucracies where the CEO (pastor) is paid exorbitantly and the rest of the staff is expected to live on rice and beans. And the congregations are expected to give more than ten percent of their gross income. Many of these leaders consider their organizations far more important than the people who comprise them. It is because the organization allows the pastor to live like the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
It is time for this to stop. Benny Hinn is a fraud. Kenneth Copeland preaches the Amway-gospel, where those at the top get all the money. Creflo Dollar promises the poor they will become rich by sowing financial seeds in his ministry. And Paula White? "God can heal YOUR marriage, just not mine."
My hope is that the Grassley Investigation leads to reform. These laws were passed before television and radio created superstar pastors. We need laws that allow open investigation into a tax-exempt organization's finances. Then the guilt, shame, and manipulation these groups use to collect money can be turned in their direction. Glasnost, or openness, helped bring down the Soviet Union. We could use a bit of it in the church.
2 comments:
The "fiends" blog hutched my tart. Renee' and I hold the same warmth in our hearts toward you and the Debber.
Also loved the Ministry update. It's about time these charlatans got some "screwteny".
Great article!
I can sympathize with your viewpoint. Are you familiar with Tom Horn, a pastor who was connected to TBN in the 80's? He runs a website called Raidersnewsnetwork.com.
God bless,
Bruce
www.BruceDCollins.com
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